Everyone’s heard of Paul the octopus by now. There are already hundreds of Facebook fan groups and hate groups for Paul, ranging from “Save Paul the Octopus” to “Kill Paul the Stupid Octopus”.
In short, Paul is a celebrity. And although the German football fans want to eat him, people all over the world are depending on him to predict the outcome of the final two matches of the World Cup.
People ALL over the world are depending on an OCTOPUS to determine which team they will choose to place bets worth up to thousands of dollars. What is the world coming to?
Here’s what you need to know about Paul the Octopus
Paul first predicted the outcome of a football match during UEFA Euro 2008 and according to his keepers, 5 out of his 6 choices were correct.
Paul received his celebrity status when he correctly predicted the winners of each of the six 2010 FIFA World Cup matches Germany has played so far. Paul predicted Germany's win over England in the round of 16 and over Argentina in the quarter finals.
Paul also made a correct prediction for the semi finals when he chose the box with Spain's flag and the result led to death threats. Since the latest prediction, Germans are no longer praising their octopus, they’re calling for Paul to be cooked and eaten.
Despite the death threats, his keeper Oliver Walenciak is sure that the octopus is safe in his aquarium tank: “There are always people who want to eat our octopus but he is not shy and we are here to protect him as well. He will survive.”
And he’s right, Paul has nothing to worry about. He’s got high connections. The Spanish Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian called for Paul to be given safe haven in Spain, while Prime Minister Jose Zapatero offered to send an official state protection team to prevent the octopus from being eaten by angry Germans!
Paul's 100% accurate predictions for the 2010 World Cup have gained him worldwide status as a celebrity octopus. I hear he’s even getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame soon.
